TT Club insurer doubts 95pc VGM compliance of UN’s box weigh-in rule

DESPITE reported 95 per cent compliance of UN container weigh-in rules, London Marine insurer TT Club said it doubts the accuracy of the "verified gross mass" (VGM) figures and whether they have been verified and not merely declared.

Speaking after accepting the Lloyd's List Maritime Insurance Award for TT Club's work on VGM, risk management director Peregrine Storrs-Fox said he doubted there had been 95 per cent VGM compliance as claimed by the World Shipping Council, the big shipowner-operator group.

"It remains to be seen whether the declared VGMs are accurate, representing the result of an actual weighing process," said Mr Storrs-Fox.

He said it was known that certain terminals and carriers have been engaging with shippers over the three-months since July where inaccuracies are apparent.

"Anecdotal evidence suggests that shippers are, in the main, simply adding the tare mass of the container to the previously declared weight of the cargo to arrive at a VGM.

"The industry needs the comfort of authenticated VGMs comparing the actual mass of packed containers obtained by check-weighing in order to have a true picture of compliance," said Mr Storrs-Fox.